Chapter 2

“Our pack doctor is on his way. He should be here any minute. The Alpha will come after that,” the brunette said, crouched beside me. “Technically, you’re not on our territory yet. It’s about a quarter mile ahead, but he’ll still want to question you.”

I didn’t respond. Just laid there in the dirt, bleeding and shaking. But the moment he said others were coming, something inside me snapped. Panic gripped my chest like iron. Another group. Another nightmare. They were going to take me again. Use me again.

Not again. Please, not again.

My body screamed in protest as I tried to stand, but the second I put weight on my leg, I collapsed. Pain exploded in white-hot flashes behind my eyes. I crawled, dragging myself backward with my arms, breath hitching, eyes wide with terror.

The brunette stepped toward me to help, but I kept moving away, scooting across the forest floor. He stopped immediately and held both hands up.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly. “How about you tell me your name?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My throat was locked, my voice buried under a wave of fear. Ten long seconds passed in silence. Then another figure approached, older, calm, carrying a pair of shorts and a large shirt. He handed the clothes to the younger one without a word. My mind wanted to trust them, or at least listen. But my instincts screamed louder. Run. Get away.

The older man stepped forward and started speaking to the brunette.

“How did you meet her?” he asked.

“I was heading back to the territory when I found her lying here. She didn’t know how to shift, but she’s really hurt. Her leg looks bad.”

They both turned to look at me, and I froze again. My entire body went still, my heart thundering against my ribs.

“I see,” the doctor said. He glanced at my leg, and when he stepped closer, I scooted away once more. That was when I noticed the tears. I had been crying this entire time without even realizing.

“Listen,” the doctor said, gentler now. “You have to let me take a look at your leg. It’s serious. You may need stitches.”

I wasn’t listening. Not really. I was too busy searching for an escape route. But I could barely crawl, let alone run. My body was failing me.

The doctor exchanged a look with the brunette. “You’re going to have to help. She needs attention now. She’s too scared, and she’s losing blood.”

Another presence arrived behind them. A third man. Blond, blue-eyed, tall and lean, though still built like a fighter. He looked strong but moved carefully, not wanting to startle me.

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. I just kept dragging myself backward with what little strength I had left. But the blood loss was winning, and my arms were shaking with each movement. My body was giving up on me.

The brunette sat down beside my head, gently positioning my upper body so I rested against him. The blond moved to my legs and held them still. I fought them, weakly, for a few seconds. I kicked. I whimpered. But I couldn’t keep it up. I was too far gone. My body sagged, and I slumped into them, crying harder now, helpless.

The doctor crouched at my side and began cleaning the wound with a cloth soaked in alcohol. The sting made me scream, pain tearing through me as fresh tears streamed down my face.

Then I heard it.

A growl.

Deep. Lethal. Close.

And a voice that sent shivers down my spine.

“Mine.”

That one word echoed through the trees like thunder. It struck something inside me, something ancient and unexplainable. My breathing calmed slightly, and a strange warmth settled in my chest. I didn’t know why, but part of me felt… safe.

The two men holding me stiffened, lifting their heads. I followed their gaze, and when I saw him, my heart stopped.

He stepped from the trees like a shadow made flesh.

He was enormous, easily six-foot-four, towering over the others. Muscles stretched beneath his black V-neck shirt, his broad shoulders commanding attention with every movement. His jeans hugged his legs just enough to show off a body sculpted like a god, without trying too hard.

But it was his face that made me freeze.

Chiseled jaw. Sharp cheekbones. Tousled brunette hair that curled slightly in the front, like he’d just run his fingers through it. Everything about him radiated power. Dominance. Danger. And something else… something raw and magnetic.

His eyes were what truly stopped me.

Pitch black.

Locked onto me like I was the only thing that existed in his world.

And somehow, without him even touching me, I felt it. That pull. That invisible thread tying me to him. Something ancient. Something I didn’t understand yet.

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. I just stared, trembling, as my fate stood before me in the shape of the most dangerous, beautiful man I’d ever seen.